Smart Dog

There is a radio programme in the UK, called “Mystery Hour” which attempts to provide answers to mysteries. The one in question was, “How does a dog seem to know that its master is about to return home?” Much serious research has been carried out on this phenomenon which has been observed far more frequently than would be accounted for by coincidence. A listener phoned in with a theory. “It was all about the smell of the dog bowl”.

Now, even with modern science, that doesn’t make sense. The dog is in the house (presumably with a family member) and presumably with a food bowl. The master is turning the corner into the street, maybe 100m away, so no currently known senses would work. I know a dog has a fine sense of smell, but there are limits! What happens next is that the family member sees the dog jumping up and down, and then 5 minutes later, dad (or mum) arrives at the front door. How can one explain that? Well, the answer is, one can’t. But many people have a problem with that. They don’t like uncertainty, they want facts. So, they attempt to explain this effect by using all that is known about science in the 21st Century.

But is that all we will ever know? That is the crux of many pages on this website. The usual argument is: “Nothing in science explains this, so it must be a myth….or a trick.. or coincidence”.